NEW DELHI: Around 30 to 50 students are feared trapped under the debris of a five-storey building that collapsed in south Delhi’s Satya Niketan on Sunday afternoon, with locals saying some of those inside were still making calls for help as rescue teams worked to pull survivors out of the rubble.BJP MLA Anil Sharma, who reached the spot, said several people were still trapped and teams were in contact with them.“We are even getting calls from those who are trapped. Teams are continuously in touch with those who are trapped inside; we pray to god that all people are safe,” he said.The collapse triggered panic in the densely populated locality near Delhi University’s South Campus, where private student hostels, eateries and shops line the congested lanes.
‘Sudden tremor’ sends residents rushing out
Residents said they felt a “sudden tremor” before the five-storey building, identified as Hostel Daze, came crashing down.Many rushed out of nearby buildings and began removing debris with their bare hands and whatever tools they could find in an effort to reach those trapped inside.A local resident, Rajen Chhetri, who works with the Delhi Police, said the building had around 15 rooms, with two to three students staying in each room. He said repair or construction work was underway in the basement.“Most of the students staying here are from Keralam, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and study mainly at Motilal Nehru College, Atma Ram Sanatan Dharm College and Sri Venkateswara College. They were paying around Rs 12,000 per bed,” Chhetri said.“I have been living here for the last 20 years. Some construction work was going on in the basement, where water had started accumulating. The foundation was also extremely weak,” he said.
Around 40 students were staying in upper floors
Police said a PCR call was received at the South Campus police station at 1.34pm, after which eight fire tenders and multiple rescue teams were rushed to the spot.A resident said that he felt a slight tremor inside his house before the collapse.“We felt a slight tremor in our house. It felt like the ground shook, like an earthquake. We ran outside,” he said.With no immediate arrangements in place, residents began lifting heavy concrete slabs and clearing debris themselves in search of those trapped, he claimed.The resident also said the adjoining building appeared to be at risk and was slightly leaning. He estimated that around 50 to 60 students could still be inside the collapsed structure.Another resident said around 35 to 40 students were staying on the upper floors and that some were sleeping when the building came down.He said construction work was being carried out in the basement and that he had managed to step outside only minutes before the collapse, suffering injuries in the process.“As soon as I came out, the whole thing collapsed,” he said.Another resident said his nephew had narrowly escaped after riding his bike past the building moments before it collapsed.The structure came down with a loud crash almost immediately after he crossed it, he claimed, quoting his nephew as saying, “It was a matter of seconds.”Most students staying at the PG were from Keralam, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, another resident said, adding that many of those feared trapped were believed to be from Kerala.Since it was Sunday, many students had not gone to college and were inside the PG, he said.
Residents flag old buildings, lack of maintenance
Priyanka, who said she had lived in the locality for 20-22 years, said buildings in the area were routinely being built up to five or six floors.“Many houses have been converted into boys’ PGs, with the owners shifting elsewhere.“They simply name the properties as PGs, take the rent online and leave them to operate,” she said.“The PG that collapsed is over 20 years old, and in all these years, I have not seen any maintenance work being carried out. The whole of Satya Niketan is full of PGs, and hardly 30 per cent of the house owners actually live here,” she said.“Even the gutters and sewers here are open. There were many students trapped inside the building. Since it was raining, most of them were in their rooms, while some had gone home as it was the weekend,” Priyanka said.Another resident said the buildings in the area were very old and called for structural verification of such properties.Five-storey buildings with basements had been built in the residential locality, he claimed, questioning whether such structures should have been permitted.Rescue and relief operations were continuing at the site.(With PTI inputs)
